Smart IoT Irrigation System for Farmers

• This study note covers the design of a smart irrigation system using IoT with an emphasis on the welfare of farmers
• It covers all aspects of the system from components, design and coding

Introduction and Objectives

• The Internet of Things (IoT) is used by growers to reduce water and fertilizer consumption, cut waste, and improve product quality/yield
• Precision agriculture with IoT tools enables farmers to potentially cut water and fertilizer use by up to 40% without reducing yields
• Using an irrigation system that monitors soil moisture can meet field water needs which saves farmers effort, water, and time
• Agriculture uses 85% of available fresh water resources worldwide so efficient water management is a major concern
• An Arduino-based plant communicator aids farmers, triggering irrigation when soil moisture is low
• The system aims to develop a PIC controller-based system that automatically irrigates plants and supports water management decisions
• Vegetable yields may be maintained or increased through proper irrigation
• Agriculture is a key sector in Bangladesh's economic growth
• Irrigation is defined as planning & designing low-cost systems fitting natural conditions
• Construction of proper distribution systems and adequate water supply can increase crop yields
• Solar energy represents an environmentally friendly solution
• Also described is an ability to maintain average vegetable yields through correct irrigation technologies

Internet of Things (IoT) Basics

• IoT connects computing devices, machines, objects, animals, or people with unique identifiers
• It allows them to transfer data over a network without human interaction
• IoT spans energy systems, homes, industries, cities, logistics, health, agriculture, and more
• IoT devices perform remote sensing, monitoring, and actuating tasks and can interact directly or indirectly
• Data collection can be local or remote via centralized servers/cloud
• The TCP/IP protocol is used for internet communication in such systems
• The Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) uses smart devices and machines to collect data processed with software and networking tools to increase efficiency

IoT Applications

• Examples of applications are smart lighting, web/mobile apps for connected lights, smart appliance management, intrusion detection, safety systems, and home entertainment management.

Smart Irrigation Advantages

• Its very easy to install and configure
• Resources and energy are saved and better utilized
• Equal water distribution is enabled at the right time for farms and nurseries
• Saturated soils are reduced by avoiding unnecessary overwatering which improves crop performance
• Automated systems use valves to turn motors ON/OFF, reducing labor
• Very valuable for accurate soil moisture control in specialized greenhouse vegetable production

Project Objectives

• Maintaining moisture level within the root zone with uniform water distribution
• Reducing labor costs and water/electricity consumption
• Providing fertilizer at the proper time via remote control
• Providing automatic irrigation by switching a motor pump ON/OFF based on soil moisture content using IoT

Literature Review

• Primary investigation involves understanding existing approaches and requirements
• Soil moisture, temperature and humidity sensors are placed in plant root zones data and transmit data to an android application
• The threshold was set on the soil moisture sensors to control water quantity
• It expands on previous projects by adding temperature and humidity values so values can be sent to mobile applications

Key Technologies in Smart Irrigation Systems

• Arduino Nano: A small, complete board suitable for breadboards
  • Based on ATmega328 (Nano 3.x) or ATmega168 (Nano 2.x)
  • Powered via Mini-B USB, 6-20V unregulated external supply, or 5V regulated external supply
  • Can be programmed with Arduino IDE software
• LCD Display: A flat-panel display that uses light-modulating properties of liquid crystals using polarizers useful for displaying arbitrary images with low information
  • Resolution is expressed of pixels
  • Spatial Performance is the amount of data is displayed on the screen based on density of pixels
  • Viewing Angle of an LCD may also be important depending on its usage
  • Temporal Performance displays the accuracy and the number of times something can be displayed
  • ColoUr performance
  • Brightness is also a factor
• Relay: An electrically operated switch used where a low-power signal needs to control a circuit, or where multiple circuits are controlled by one signal with solid-state relays that control circuits with no moving parts
  • Relays are electromechanical devices using an electromagnet
  • The relay can be used to control motors, heaters, lamps etc
• Wi-Fi Module (ESP8266): An entirely self-contained Wi-Fi networking solution that allows for complete, stand alone Wi-Fi
  • ESP8266 has an integrated TCP/IP protocol stack and integrates easily through the sensors with minimal loading during runtime.

Wi-Fi Module (ESP8266) Features

• Low cost, compact, and powerful
• Power Supply at +3.3V only
• Aurrent Consumption: 100mA
• I/O Voltage: 3.6V (max)
• It supports deep sleep

DHT-11 Temperature and Humidity Sensor

• The DHT11 measures temperature & humidity highlighting a temperature & stickiness
• The system has an easy to connect 3-pin single line bundle

Arduino Nano Pin functions

• 14 digital I/O pins which can be configured as an input or output
• RX receive and TX transmit are used for TTL serial data communication which are connected to the USB-to-TTL chip
• The pins are labelled 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 14 generate a Pulse Width Modulation signal of 8-bit resolution
• When an exeternal interruot to another processor is required the pins can be used to give a controller a INT0 or INT1 by using the attachInterrupt () function can be used to trigger three types of interrupts
• There is an UNO that got 6 analog input pins but Arduino Nano has 8 analog inputs which can connect 8 analog sensor inputs

Experimental Setup

System Overview

• A smart platform of IoT controls the condition of water based on the moisture of the soil
• Real-time surveillance provided to owners far from the farms.
• Surveillance on personnel and crops prevents losses
• Easy to use with a Smartphone, with low maintenance after setup

Results and Discussion

• After implementation test to ensure all equipment is working correctly and has collected and presented all results
• PIC16F877A, Arduino Nano, Pump Motor, Humidity and temperature Sensor, Moisture Sensor, LCD, Wi-Fi module, Relay switching circuit are the main equipment's used
• Project operates by two methods: Website for automatic and manual control

Conclusions and Future Work

• The project aims to address decreasing groundwater levels due to global warming
• It creates a smart irrigation system using IoT to benefit farms to water better
• Bio-pesticides and fertilizer added automatically
• PIR sensors added to be used to detect motions of animal in the agriculture field.
• The user is to be notified via SMS in case of system failure